Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain will collide in the 2025 UEFA Champions League final on Saturday at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
The stakes are towering, the history unprecedented, and for the first time since 2004, no club from England, Spain or Germany will feature in Europe’s grandest showdown.
At last, two continental powerhouses with different paths and philosophies get their shot to break the hegemony and etch their legacy in gold.
PSG’s road to Munich has been a story of redemption and resilience, sparked by the tactical overhaul of Luis Enrique and a team eager to silence its doubters.
The Parisians stumbled through the Swiss-style league phase, finishing 15th in the new 36-team setup.
But what followed was nothing short of a transformation.
PSG tore through Premier League heavyweights – Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal – showing the kind of balance between flair and grit that has often eluded them in past campaigns.
A 3-1 aggregate win over Arsenal in the semifinals, including a nervy 2-1 victory in front of their home crowd at Parc des Princes, sealed their ticket to Bavaria.
Ousmane Dembele, electric and unpredictable, has been the face of PSG’s attack, flanked by the emerging brilliance of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Bradley Barcola, and Desire Doue.
Behind them, the midfield trio of Vitinha, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz has hummed with purpose and precision, giving PSG a structure often missing in their star-studded past.
Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes have owned the flanks, while Gianluigi Donnarumma has been a fortress in goal, delivering critical saves in the tightest moments.
From a 10-0 demolition of Brest in the knockout play-offs to weathering English storms, PSG have arrived with purpose – and with the weight of history.
A win would crown them champions of Europe for the first time, just the second French club after Marseille’s triumph in 1993 – also in Munich.
Yet standing in their way is Inter Milan, bruised but not broken from their final loss to Manchester City in 2023.
Simone Inzaghi’s men have returned with vengeance on their minds and lessons in their playbook.
Inter cut down Bayern Munich with clinical efficiency in the quarterfinals, then outlasted Barcelona in a wild 7-6 semifinal aggregate, a tie punctuated by Davide Frattesi’s dramatic extra-time goal in a 4-3 San Siro thriller.
Their journey was built on discipline and steel – traits woven deep into Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 blueprint.
Federico Dimarco and Denzel Dumfries stretch the field as wing-back warriors, while Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram lead the line with clever movement and lethal finishing.
In goal, Yann Sommer has been immense, recording eight clean sheets and exuding calm through chaos.
Veteran defenders like Francesco Acerbi, whose stoppage-time equalizer against Barca kept Inter alive, have added poise and bite.
Inter’s secret? Absorb, strike, repeat. They cede possession, never panic, and punish lapses with icy precision.
Now, the final promises a stylistic clash as much as a tactical one.
PSG’s high-tempo, possession-hungry 4-3-3 will look to stretch and suffocate Inter, but the Nerazzurri’s compact shape and counter-attacking clarity offer the perfect antidote.
The midfield battle could tilt the tide – Vitinha, Neves, and Ruiz must outmaneuver Inter’s Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Nicolo Barella, masters at disrupting rhythm and springing forward.
Out wide, Hakimi and Mendes will meet their match in Dimarco and Dumfries, and whichever duo wins the wing wars may well carry their team over the line.
Between the posts, Donnarumma and Sommer – each already with semifinal heroics – could become the final’s defining figure with a single save.
For PSG, this is a chance to shed the “almost” label.
They’ve already won Ligue 1 and the Trophee des Champions, and with the Coupe de France final looming a week prior, they could walk into Munich chasing a historic treble.
For Inter, who have fallen short of a Scudetto defense, this is legacy.
A fourth European crown would tie them with Ajax and reaffirm their place among Europe’s aristocracy. It would also vindicate Inzaghi, who seeks his first continental title as manager.
